The Empty Glass Was Filled
by Runic Knight
Summary: Kyou, cast out of the Sohma family, feels he has nothing left in his life. He abandons his love without thinking of the consequences. Is it too late to get Tohru back?


Type: Oneshot   
Genre: Angst / Romance   
By Runic Knight (Pange XD)   
Rating: PG

**The Empty Glass Was Filled**

Pitch black. The sky outside is black, and so are my spirits.

How cliché, I know, but that's how I'm feeling right now. Empty. There's not a drop of liquid in my proverbial glass, so there is absolutely no way to say that the glass is half full in my situation.

Actually, that 'proverbial glass' does exist. It is staring back at me, vacant, all the liquor already drained by the person who sat in this seat before I arrived.

Drinking away my sorrows, that was my game plan.

What else is there to do when you've been kicked out of your family? Nothing. And if I ever was so inclined to return, I'd either be locked away, or Yuki'd kick my ass. Hard.

What had I done to deserve this, you ask? I was born.

'Oh, this young man is looking for some attention,' you might think by the way I'm describing this situation, but no. I'm not being melodramatic about my current position.

I'm cursed. And it doesn't help that I had my way with a girl that one of my fellow cursed family members, who believes himself to be superior to me in every way adores. I didn't 'take' her either, she desired me as much as I wanted her. He couldn't stand it that I had won the unattainable prize and he had lost after all those years of sucking up to her, planting her favourite vegetables and picking lilacs to give her in the mornings.

He got his way, being Akito's favourite, and I was swiftly sent away. I am surprised that I was even allowed to be out of containment for this long; it had been my fate, as all cats had before me, to remain under lock and key for the rest of my existence. For some reason, this had been waived for me. Though I was already hated, and have been on the last of my nine lives in Sohma Society for a long time anyway. I was being provided with money to live. They wouldn't just let me die, they had to sustain me. How thoughtful. Those fools.

So my life was ripped away from me. Even my part time position at the dojo was taken away, the only work I could ever see myself doing. So now I am a mindless fool, wondering around the south end, picking fights with lowlifes between drinks, as many as my meagre 'allowance' allows.

It's been weeks now since I have seen Tohru. Or anyone else in my family, for that matter. Sometimes I'd see the Yankee in the bar with a rough looking crowd. Seems she was pulled back into the gang life after working hard to bring herself out.

I wonder if she's still friends with Tohru. Even before I left I hadn't seen them together for a while. My thoughts always wonder back to Tohru. I'm such an idiot. She'll probably find refuge in Yuki's embrace, and he'll win once again. Check mate for Yuki, all hail Prince Yuki. That damn rat.

Just thinking about Yuki makes my skin crawl. My entire life's torments are his fault, and he knows the back story well.

Where is my drink?

I look around and see a new waitress, a long haired brunette, being scolded by the bar's cranky manager. She bows profusely in her tight waitress uniform, but he yells at her to get moving. She takes a serving dish from him, balancing drinks on it as she heads on her busy way to the tables.

She's facing away from me, and I begin to wonder how much she could possibly make a joint like this. How can anything be worth the harassment and degradation of an unknown man patting your butt as you walk by with a wink? If somehow I transformed into a female waitress, I know that man's face would be mighty swollen by the time I was done with him. She reminds me of Tohru, the way she reacted, and a part of me wants to defend the poor girl.

I remain seated.

I tap on the edges of my glass and the salt and pepper shakers in front of me in a horrible rendition of 'Three Blind Mice,' still waiting on my drink.

"Here you are, Kyou-kun," a female voice interrupt my song shyly. "Sorry for the wait."

Looking up from my empty glass I meet the eyes of the girl I had longed to meet. "An angel," I say in disbelief. "An angel in the midst of all this crap."

She giggles at my remark. "Nice to see you too, Kyou-kun." She smooths out her scandalously short skirt as she sits down carefully beside me on one of the tall stools. "I've needed to talk to you."

Although I was happy to see her, I knew that this was not a proper place for a girl like Tohru. "And that means taking up a job here? You're fresh meat, Tohru. Do you know the kind of people that hang out here?"

"You hang out here, Kyou-kun," Tohru says gently. "Uo-chan, she told me. Every time she comes here, you are here. I want to be where Kyou-kun is."

I don't say anything in reply to her heartfelt emotional drivel, although my heart wants to say something as equally thoughtful. I wait for her to speak again.

She wrings her hands in nervousness. "Is something... wrong?"

"Yes, something is wrong!" my temper spats out, and I immediately regret saying it. But I continue, "I've been taken away from you, and now you've put yourself into a dangerous position just to speak with me? Yes, that is wrong!"

"I don't mind Kyou-kun, it's not your fault that we've been separated for so long." She smiles at me, and it infuriates me more.

"Tohru, don't you get it? We can't be together like this! I was hardly a person before, but now, I'm no one!"

"We...can't be together?" Tohru whispers, her eyes blinking back tears. I am being ultra harsh, and I consciously know it. It is the only way I can say the words without breaking down myself.

"No, we can't," I bite back my own tears, hiding it behind a facade of masculinity. "I can't support you."

"Support me? You mean financially? Is money what you're worry about? I have my weekdays nine to five job as a janitor, plus now, I have this side job for the weekends. Kyou-kun, will you stay with me? You shouldn't be alone, you don't deserve it."

"I don't deserve your pity." I was bitter. So what?

"It's not pity, it's compassion!" Tohru insisted, and she grabs my hand and holds it tight in her own.

"Those are just words!" My mother pitied me, so why wouldn't Tohru feel the same? I repulse even myself. "Listen, you've got a nice home with people who care about you. You've got it made."

Tohru bites her lip. "I live on my own now. I've been cast out of Shigure's house's house when Akito found out that -" she interrupt herself, "I'm just like you, Kyou-kun! We need each other, or at least, I need you. Kyou...-kun?"

I ignore her plea. "In any case, you shouldn't work here! It's sleazy." I want her out of my vision before I go crazy. I want her standing beside my always, with a smiling face. One that smiles because of me. But I'm selfish, and I know I am not really needed.

Even if she is no longer in that house, she still has....

My mind stops in its tracks as I remember a time, years before to the New Years when Tohru stayed behind and watched the house. We had left her alone, but Yuki and I, we ran back to find her crying. She had no one other than us. She needed us.

I know, she needed me. Not Yuki, not anyone else. She wanted me, that cat.

I am making a mistake. What the hell am I doing here, pushing her away. I try to interrupt, but....

She looks away from me, a little smile on her face. "I noticed that all of the other waitresses are really thin, beautiful girls. So you won't have to worry, because soon, I won't be thin enough to work here. They'll fire me quick enough."

I look at her, more than a little perplexed. I open my mouth to talk, but she is quick with her words. The more she speaks, the more the realization of what I must have created inside her dawned on me. "I understand, Kyou-kun. I'm sorry for bothering you." She begins to babble, "My mother raised me on her own, so I can handle it too! I was being greedy, wanting you in my life, I guess. I'm sorry for disturbing you while you are trying to relax and have a good time. Enjoy your drink!"

We never used protection, of course this was bound to happen! "Tohru, wait!" I demand.

She stands up and grabs the empty serving plate. "I really must get to work." Instead of heading toward a man who attempts to flag her down for a refill, she runs past him and into the employees lounge.

As Yuki had always told me, I really am an idiot. I think this to myself as I stand outside the door, angered by the bold sign on the door which stated, "Restricted - Employees Only." I could only listen to the sobs of the woman I loved from beyond the doorjamb. I hear one of her fellow waitresses complain about 'the new girl' in a shrill, angry voice. I hold back the urge to yell at her as I wait.

I can only pray that she will still accept me when she walks out of that door.

Please Tohru, I want to deserve you. The glass remained full at the seat he left behind, untouched by Kyou's lips.

* * *

**Author Notes:** Oneshot; Completed July 3rd 2004, Revised and Uploaded July 4th 2004.   
Oh, another Kyoru story. I can't help it, I love this coupling! Though I admit I like to write lots of pairings, but I'd have to say KyouXTohru is my favourite, followed by the uncanon couple of Hanajima Saki with Hatsuharu. (hearts) This story was written in about three hours upon thinking of the idea.   
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! =9 


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